so - i sold my car last weekend! that was an answer to prayer. i didn't owe any money on her, but her ability to eat gas at a high rate bugged me and drove me nuts! i didn't think anyone would want her - she was really fun to drive (an Escape) but she had some dents. but - i sold her!
so now i'm carless for the first time since i totaled my car when i was 17 (which, by the way, was NOT my fault - let's just go on the record here). i feel like i'm back in jr. high. not having a car makes you incredibly dependent on other people. and plans have to change when you can't get a ride.
and so here i sit at work, waiting for a ride. waiting, waiting, waiting. but that's ok. i sold my car. i'm relieved.
now i need a new car. and car shopping drives me nuts because i'm so picky when it comes to vehicles! you know how some people could care less and they're like "as long as it runs, i'm happy"? yeah - i'm not one of those. i want great gas mileage, a big vehicle, and it has to be a manual. all for not a lot of $$. oh and preferrably a Honda or Toyota.
good luck with that, jen.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
today is the day!
1 year of no soda!!!!!!!!!!! specifically, coke, but all soda!!!!
it wouldn't be a big deal for some people to go a whole year, but...shoot, it has been huge for me!
so - why did i do it? a couple reasons. i had started working out regularly at the gym and knew i wouldn't get the results i wanted if i kept loading my body with that high fructose corn syrup junk. but i also didn't want to be "dependent" on soda anymore.
it was a long a road. it started out as a 1-week $100 bet i may. then i had a few cokes. then i did a 1-month bet. after a month, i decided to try for 3 months since i was already a month into it. so i went 3 months. then i had a few cokes. then November 18th of last year i had a chocolate coke and donuts on a road trip home from nashville and...well...let's just say it all came out the wrong end (it went north, not south). so then i didn't even want coke for a month or so and that's when i decided to just try going a full year.
and i can now say i have done it!! whenever i was close to giving in, i reminded myself that Jesus is better. any short term craving i may have, Jesus is completely able and worthy to fulfill all my desires.
woohoo!
it wouldn't be a big deal for some people to go a whole year, but...shoot, it has been huge for me!
so - why did i do it? a couple reasons. i had started working out regularly at the gym and knew i wouldn't get the results i wanted if i kept loading my body with that high fructose corn syrup junk. but i also didn't want to be "dependent" on soda anymore.
it was a long a road. it started out as a 1-week $100 bet i may. then i had a few cokes. then i did a 1-month bet. after a month, i decided to try for 3 months since i was already a month into it. so i went 3 months. then i had a few cokes. then November 18th of last year i had a chocolate coke and donuts on a road trip home from nashville and...well...let's just say it all came out the wrong end (it went north, not south). so then i didn't even want coke for a month or so and that's when i decided to just try going a full year.
and i can now say i have done it!! whenever i was close to giving in, i reminded myself that Jesus is better. any short term craving i may have, Jesus is completely able and worthy to fulfill all my desires.
woohoo!
Saturday, November 07, 2009
holy anguish.
I listened to “Holy Anguish” – a message Francis Chan gave a little bit ago. First off, download it on itunes and listen. Like…really. Do it now. My summary of it will not do it justice.
What kinds of things do you feel deep sorrow over? Loss of a loved one. Loss of a job. Tragedy in friend’s lives. The Broncos going 6-0 this year and then losing to Baltimore… (I had to throw that in there…I’m sorry…those who know me know I can’t be too serious for any extended length of time.)
No, but really – how often do you really feel deep sorrow over something?
"With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them." Romans 9:1-3 (NLT)
What did Paul anguish over? He didn’t anguish over his own personal struggles (thrown in jail numerous times, beaten, persecuted in so many more ways than we ever are). He anguished over those who didn’t know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
He anguished over the lost.
Ahhhh. Seriously? When is the last time I really anguished over people going to Hell? It’s been awhile. I’ve gone through spurts where I was very much aware of this tragedy at hand, but I had lost the sense of urgency.
Supposedly there’s an actor or comedian or someone on youtube who talks about his encounter with an evangelist and even though he was an atheist, he said how he respected the evangelist for…I can’t remember what – again, I haven’t seen the video. But he says, in regards to all the other Christians who don’t share the Gospel with others, “How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them about hell?”
Ouch.
Think about it. If you are a follower of Christ, you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ and realize your need for a perfect Lamb’s blood to be the ultimate sacrifice to satisfy a perfect and just God. And you know that you will spend eternal life in Heaven…in Paradise…because you believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And you know that those who do not believe and choose to go their own way will spend eternity in Hell, absolutely alone and in utter turmoil that we cannot even imagine.
Why are we (yes, we) not anguishing over this fact?!
Francis Chan goes on to tell about a reoccurring dream a friend of his keeps having. This guy used to play basketball for the Lakers. In his dream, his fellow teammates, who he had spent years playing basketball with day in and day out, are in hell and he’s not. And they look at him with this look on their face that says “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS?! You didn’t say anything because you wanted me to like you?!”
Too often I don’t share the saving message of Jesus Christ with others because I don’t know how they’ll react. I’m afraid they won’t believe it. I’m afraid they’ll ask questions I don’t have answers to. I’m afraid I’ll drive a wedge between us.
What a stupid list of reasons. People I see every day are going to Hell and I don’t share with them the beautiful truth that God has provided a means of justification that is in no way something I can earn but is instead a free gift to everyone who just believes.
Pathetic.
May I…may you…may we be overwhelmed with awareness to this Truth. May the sense of urgency greatly increase.
If you didn’t listen to the podcast yet, go do it.
What kinds of things do you feel deep sorrow over? Loss of a loved one. Loss of a job. Tragedy in friend’s lives. The Broncos going 6-0 this year and then losing to Baltimore… (I had to throw that in there…I’m sorry…those who know me know I can’t be too serious for any extended length of time.)
No, but really – how often do you really feel deep sorrow over something?
"With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them." Romans 9:1-3 (NLT)
What did Paul anguish over? He didn’t anguish over his own personal struggles (thrown in jail numerous times, beaten, persecuted in so many more ways than we ever are). He anguished over those who didn’t know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
He anguished over the lost.
Ahhhh. Seriously? When is the last time I really anguished over people going to Hell? It’s been awhile. I’ve gone through spurts where I was very much aware of this tragedy at hand, but I had lost the sense of urgency.
Supposedly there’s an actor or comedian or someone on youtube who talks about his encounter with an evangelist and even though he was an atheist, he said how he respected the evangelist for…I can’t remember what – again, I haven’t seen the video. But he says, in regards to all the other Christians who don’t share the Gospel with others, “How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them about hell?”
Ouch.
Think about it. If you are a follower of Christ, you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ and realize your need for a perfect Lamb’s blood to be the ultimate sacrifice to satisfy a perfect and just God. And you know that you will spend eternal life in Heaven…in Paradise…because you believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And you know that those who do not believe and choose to go their own way will spend eternity in Hell, absolutely alone and in utter turmoil that we cannot even imagine.
Why are we (yes, we) not anguishing over this fact?!
Francis Chan goes on to tell about a reoccurring dream a friend of his keeps having. This guy used to play basketball for the Lakers. In his dream, his fellow teammates, who he had spent years playing basketball with day in and day out, are in hell and he’s not. And they look at him with this look on their face that says “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS?! You didn’t say anything because you wanted me to like you?!”
Too often I don’t share the saving message of Jesus Christ with others because I don’t know how they’ll react. I’m afraid they won’t believe it. I’m afraid they’ll ask questions I don’t have answers to. I’m afraid I’ll drive a wedge between us.
What a stupid list of reasons. People I see every day are going to Hell and I don’t share with them the beautiful truth that God has provided a means of justification that is in no way something I can earn but is instead a free gift to everyone who just believes.
Pathetic.
May I…may you…may we be overwhelmed with awareness to this Truth. May the sense of urgency greatly increase.
If you didn’t listen to the podcast yet, go do it.
I can't figure out how to post pictures and text at the same time :)
The pic below is from this morning. I was sitting on a bench at the beach, enjoying the overcast and windy weather!! So fun! It was about 78 but with the wind it was cooler and I got to wear a zip up hoodie!! Maybe a little overkill, but us Keys people take any chance we can get to wear a hoodie :)
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